The Gnomon Workshop – Introduction to Maya 2026 Volume 2 Free Download

“Introduction to Maya 2026: Volume 2” is the second training module in The Gnomon Workshop’s beginner Maya series, taught by veteran CG artist Eric Keller. This volume moves beyond basic interface knowledge and focuses on 3D modeling fundamentals, retopology tools, deformers, and basic rigging workflows in Autodesk Maya.

🔗 Official page:
https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/workshops/introduction-to-maya-2026-volume-2

This course is designed to follow Volume 1, which introduces the Maya interface and core navigation tools. Volume 2 then builds on that foundation by teaching how to actually create and manipulate 3D objects.

Course Overview

This workshop contains over five hours of video training divided into about 25 lessons, each covering essential tools and workflows used in professional 3D modeling and rigging pipelines.

Key details:

Instructor: Eric Keller
Total runtime: ~5 hours
Lessons: 25 concise tutorials
Skill level: Beginner to early intermediate
Software used: Autodesk Maya 2026
Includes: Downloadable project files to follow along with the lessons.

The goal is to help new Maya users understand the technical structure behind objects, geometry, and rigging before moving into texturing or animation.

What You’ll Learn

1. Customizing the Maya Workspace

The first section focuses on optimizing your workflow. Eric Keller explains how to customize Maya so it matches your working style.

Topics include:

creating custom hotkeys
building shelf buttons
designing marking menus for faster tool access.

This is an important skill because most professional artists tailor Maya heavily to speed up their workflow.

2. Understanding Maya’s Scene Structure

Before modeling complex objects, the course explains the underlying structure of Maya objects.

You’ll learn about:

construction history
transform vs shape nodes
how objects are stored in the scene hierarchy.

Understanding these concepts helps avoid common beginner problems like broken models or corrupted scene setups.

3. Polygon Modeling Fundamentals

This is the core of Volume 2.

Eric Keller walks through how to create models using a polygon modeling workflow, which is the standard approach used in games, films, and VFX.

Topics include:

creating primitive shapes
extruding faces and edges
controlling edge loops
refining geometry
building structured polygon models.

These techniques form the foundation of nearly all 3D modeling tasks.

4. Working with NURBS and Curves

Besides polygon modeling, the workshop also introduces alternative geometry systems in Maya.

You’ll learn the difference between:

Polygon meshes (used in games and animation)
NURBS surfaces (used in product design and CAD-style modeling)
curves, which are often used to guide modeling or animation rigs.

Understanding when to use each type of geometry is crucial for production workflows.

5. Remeshing and Retopology Tools

The course then explores modern Maya features for cleaning and optimizing geometry.

You’ll learn how to use:

automatic remeshing tools
retopology workflows to rebuild cleaner meshes
topology optimization techniques.

These tools are especially useful when preparing models for animation or game engines.

6. Deformers and Basic Rigging

The final section introduces the deformer system, which allows models to bend, stretch, or animate.

Topics include:

basic deformers
weight painting fundamentals
simple animation rig creation.

This gives beginners their first look at how characters and animated objects are controlled in Maya.

Lesson Structure

The training is broken into short lessons of roughly 10–15 minutes, making it easier to follow step by step.

Typical lesson topics include:

customizing shelves and hotkeys
understanding construction history
modeling workflow basics
polygon vs NURBS surfaces
curve tools
remeshing and retopology
deformers and rigging fundamentals.

How It Fits in the Maya Learning Series

The full Introduction to Maya 2026 series has three parts:

Volume	Focus
Volume 1	Interface, navigation, and Maya fundamentals
Volume 2	Modeling, retopology, deformers, and rigging basics
Volume 3	UVs, materials, lighting, rendering with Arnold, and animation

Together, the three volumes provide a complete beginner pathway to learning Maya.

Who This Course Is For

This workshop is ideal for:

complete beginners learning Maya
Blender users switching to Maya
students preparing for VFX or game pipelines
artists wanting structured training instead of random tutorials.

Because the lessons focus on production-relevant workflows, the knowledge applies directly to professional 3D work.

Final Thoughts

“Introduction to Maya 2026: Volume 2” is where the Maya learning process becomes practical. After understanding the interface in Volume 1, this workshop teaches how to actually build models, clean topology, and prepare objects for animation.

By the end of the course, students gain a solid understanding of modeling workflows and rigging basics, preparing them for the final part of the series where shading, lighting, and animation are explored.